Good Apple
Novel, Historical 1920s, England, Europe, Crime and detection,
A loner, Londoner, blackmailer uses his skills to fight crime with the tacit blessing of the Chief Constable. Tom can work secretly to trap sex predators and corruption. They soon realise there is a lot of rottenness in the Metropolitan Police which causes major difficulties, but also helps establish Tom and his ‘non-existent’ ‘D5’ operation amongst people who want to do something about it.
On a personal level Tom finds romance and families that have been missing from his life. He tries to avoid publicity but becomes a local hero. It’s rather embarrassing when he’s innocently right on the scene of violent death more than once.
As well as gangsters, fraudsters, unpleasant local worthies and the shambles at Scotland Yard, Tom and his team get involved in national security, in particular on the alert to deal with what might happen if the political violence in Italy, Poland and Germany was to spread to England.
This was an interesting series to write as there really was corruption and appalling management at Scotland Yard at the time. Some of Tom’s modernising ideas would be used later, including international collaboration between police forces. One character was a real person who went on to be a founder member of the Flying Squad. His wife is a mathematician and involved with not only code-breaking but also the practicalities of use and interception.
The 1920s were unstable times. Mass unemployment, industrial unrest and examples to look at in Europe of Fascist and Communist street warfare and murder. The Chief Constable and Tom are jointly determined that peaceful and purposeful protests are legal and good, but any sort of violence or underground political conspiracy must be stopped.
The series has halted with Tom’s team ready to become a ‘private’ and well-connected international intelligence operation.
Volume 1
Blackmailer Tom escapes from London and loneliness to Dorset where he’s ‘adopted’ by the Chief Constable and puts his skills to ‘good’ use.
| Beginning | A5 PDF | |
| Beginning | 2-Col PDF | |
| Paperback | A5 194 pages | |
| Full ebook | A5 PDF | |
| Full ebook | 2-column PDF |
Volume 2
Tom continues making families out of lovely, lonely and damaged people. Europe’s troubles worry him. He tries international spying as an outlet for his secret ways. He finds himself as a public hero when he wants to stay in the shadows. Dorset policing becomes recognised and very worrying for corrupt empire-builders in the Metropolitan Police and Home Office.
| Paperback | A5 390 pages | |
| Full ebook | A5 PDF | |
| Full ebook | 2-column PDF |
Volume 3
Tom’s habit of being too close to violent death for comfort continues. Finance, intelligence, corruption in London, watching for opportunities to train his followers goes on. Trust in troubled times helps them work as a team to deal with serious crime, national security and finding a replacement Chief Constable for when Harry retires.
| Paperback | A5 264 pages | |
| Full ebook | A5 PDF | |
| Full ebook | 2-column PDF |